Tropical Storm Debra (1978)
Tropical Storm Debra peaked at 50 kt in the North Atlantic between August 26, 1978 and August 29, 1978, with a lowest pressure of 1000 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Debra, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1978 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- August 26, 1978 to August 29, 1978
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 50 kt (58 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 1000 mb (29.53 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.4
- Fastest the center moved
- 24 kt (28 mph)
- Identifier
- AL091978
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.
Rainfall
The Weather Prediction Center attributes 2,333 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 10.81 inches (275 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| FRESHWATER BAYOU LOCK | 10.81 in (275 mm) | 29.55N 92.30W |
| VERMILION LOCK | 8.50 in (216 mm) | 29.78N 92.20W |
| ABBEVILLE | 8.29 in (211 mm) | 29.98N 92.12W |
| JENNINGS | 7.81 in (198 mm) | 30.22N 92.65W |
| CLINTON FORESTRY HEADQUARTERS | 7.12 in (181 mm) | 30.87N 91.02W |
| LAKE ARTHUR 10 SW | 6.92 in (176 mm) | 29.98N 92.78W |
| HODGES GARDENS | 6.90 in (175 mm) | 31.38N 93.40W |
| NEW ROADS 5 NE | 6.74 in (171 mm) | 30.70N 91.43W |
| MERMENTAU | 6.62 in (168 mm) | 30.18N 92.58W |
| GREENWELL SPRINGS | 6.60 in (168 mm) | 30.57N 90.98W |
| NEW IBERIA | 6.50 in (165 mm) | 30.03N 91.82W |
| LIBERTY 5 W | 6.44 in (164 mm) | 31.15N 90.82W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 12:00 | 23.4N 88.4W | 25 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 26, 18:00 | 24.2N 89.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 27, 00:00 | 24.4N 90.4W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 27, 06:00 | 24.5N 91.4W | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 27, 12:00 | 24.6N 92.3W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 27, 18:00 | 25.1N 93.1W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 28, 00:00 | 25.8N 93.8W | 25 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 28, 06:00 | 26.8N 94.3W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 28, 12:00 | 27.8N 94.3W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 28, 18:00 | 28.7N 94.1W | 40 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 29, 00:00 | 29.6N 93.6W | 50 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 29, 06:00 | 30.7N 93.3W | 30 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 29, 12:00 | 32.0N 93.0W | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 29, 18:00 | 34.2N 92.7W | 15 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1978
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm AmeliaNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm BessNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane CoraNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane EllaNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane FlossieNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm HopeNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane Greta:OliviaNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm IrmaNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm JulietNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane KendraNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
What this means
A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.
Sources
Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.
The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.